The Barnett shale is becoming the Rodney Dangerfield of shale plays. Despite consistently producing more than 5.3 Bcf/d in mostly dry gas, a flood of operators dumping acreage over the last six months is demonstrating that the Barnett shale "don't get no respect."

Carrizo Oil and Gas became the latest public company to announce a Barnett divestiture, jettisoning acreage it now terms as "noncore" to a partnership involving Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts (KKR) and Premier Natural Resources, the former management of Tulsa-based Vintage Petroleum before its sale in October 2005 ...